trial. The Abbe Georgel bribed the press, and extravagantly paid all theliterary pens in France to produce the most Jesuitical and sophisticatedarguments in his patron's justification. Though these writers dared notaccuse or in any way criminate the Queen, yet the respectful doubts, withwhich their defence of her were seasoned, did indefinitely more mischiefthan any direct attack, which could have been directly answered.

"The long cherished, but till now smothered, resentment of the Comtessede Noailles, the scrupulous Madame Etiquette, burst forth on thisoccasion. Openly joining the Cardinal's party against her formermistress and Sovereign, she recruited and armed all in favour of herprotege; for it was by her intrigues De Rohan had been nominatedAmbassador to Vienna. Mesdames de Guemenee and Marsan, rival pretendersto favours of His Eminence, were equally earnest to support him againstthe Queen. In short, there was scarcely a family of distinction inFrance that, from the libels which then inundated the kingdom, did notconsider the King as having infringed on their prerogatives andprivileges in accusing the Cardinal.

"Shortly after the acquittal of this most artful, and, in the presentinstance, certainly too fortunate prelate, the Princesse de Conde came tocongratulate me on the Queen's innocence, and her kinsman's liberationfrom the Bastille.

"Without the slightest observation, I produced to the Princess documentsin proof of the immense sums she alone had expended in bribing the judgesand other persons, to save her relation, the Cardinal, by criminating HerMajesty.

"The Princesse de Conde instantly fell into violent hysterics, and wascarried home apparently, lifeless.

"I have often reproached myself for having given that sudden shock andpoignant anguish to Her Highness, but I could not have supposed that onewho came so barefacedly to impress me with the Cardinal's innocence,could have been less firm in refuting her own guilt.

"I never mentioned the circumstance to the Queen. Had I done so, HerHighness would have been forever excluded from the Court and the royalpresence. This was no time to increase the enemies of Her Majesty, and,the affair of the trial being ended, I thought it best to prevent anyfurther breach from a discord between the Court and the house of Conde.However, from a coldness subsisting ever after between the Princess andmyself, I doubt not that the Queen had her suspicions that all was not asit should be in that quarter. Indeed, though Her Majesty never confessedit, I think she herself had discovered something at that very time notaltogether to the credit of the Princesse de Conde, for she ceased going,from that period, to any of the fetes given at Chantilly.

"These were but a small portion of the various instruments successfullylevelled by parties, even the least suspected, to blacken and destroy thefair fame of Marie Antoinette.

"The document which so justly alarmed the Princesse de Conde, when Ishowed it to her came into my hands in the following manner:

"Whenever a distressed family, or any particular individual, applied tome for relief, or was otherwise recommended for charitable purposes, Igenerally sent my little English protegee--whose veracity, well knowingthe goodness of her heart, I could rely--to ascertain whether theirclaims were really well grounded.

[Indeed, I never deceived the Princess on these occasions. She was so generously charitable that I should have conceived it a crime. When I could get no satisfactory information, I said I could not trace anything undeserving her charity, and left Her Highness to exercise her own discretion.]

"One day I received an earnest memorial from a family, desiring to makesome private communications of peculiar delicacy. I sent my usualambassadress to inquire into its import. On making her mission known,she found no difficulty in ascertaining the object of the application.It proceeded from conscientious distress of mind. A relation of thisfamily had been the regular confessor of a convent. With the Lady Abbessof this convent and her trusty nuns, the Princesse de Conde had depositedconsiderable sums of money, to be bestowed in creating influence infavour of the Cardinal de Rohan. The confessor, being a man of someconsideration among the clergy, was applied to, to use his influence withthe needier members of the Church more immediately about him, as well asthose of higher station, to whom he had access, in furthering thepurposes of the Princesse de Conde. The bribes were applied as intended.But, at the near approach of death, the confessor was struck withremorse. He begged his family, without mentioning his name, to send theaccounts and vouchers of the sums he had so distributed, to me, as aproof of his contrition, that I might make what use of them I shouldthink proper. The papers were handed to my messenger, who pledged herword of honour that I would certainly adhere to the dying man's lastinjunctions. She desired they might be sealed up by the family, and bythem directed to me.--[To this day, I neither know the name of theconvent or the confessor.]--She then hastened back to our place ofrendezvous, where I waited for her, and where she consigned the packetinto my own hands.

"That part of the papers which compromised only the Princesse de Condewas shown by me to the Princess on the occasion I have mentioned. It wasnatural enough that she should have been shocked at the detection ofhaving suborned the clergy and others with heavy bribes to avert thedeserved fate of the Cardinal. I kept this part of the packet secrettill the King's two aunts, who had also been warm advocates in favour ofthe prelate, left Paris for Rome. Then, as Pius VI. had interestedhimself as head of the Church for the honour of one of its members, Igave them these very papers to deliver to His Holiness for his privateperusal. I was desirous of enabling this truly charitable and Christianhead of our sacred religion to judge how far his interference wasjustified by facts. I am thoroughly convinced that, had he been soonerfurnished with these evidences, instead of blaming the royal proceeding,he would have urged it on, nay, would himself have been the first toadvise that the foul conspiracy should be dragged into open day.

"The Comte de Vergennes told me that the King displayed the greatestimpartiality throughout the whole investigation for the exculpation ofthe Queen, and made good his title on this, as he did on every occasionwhere his own unbiassed feelings and opinions were called into action,to great esteem for much higher qualities than the world has usuallygiven him credit for.

"I have been accused of having opened the prison doors of the culpritLamotte for her escape; but the charge is false. I interested myself,as was my duty, to shield the Queen from public reproach by havingLamotte sent to a place of penitence; but I never interfered, except tolessen her punishment, after the judicial proceedings. The diamonds, inthe hands of her vile associates at Paris, procured her ample means toescape. I should have been the Queen's greatest enemy had I been thecause of giving liberty to one who acted, and might naturally have beenexpected to act, as this depraved woman did.

"Through the private correspondence which was carried on between thiscountry and England, after I had left it, I was informed that M. deCalonne, whom the Queen never liked, and who was called to theadministration against her will--which he knew, and consequently becameone of her secret enemies in the affair of the necklace--was discoveredto have been actively employed against Her Majesty in the work publishedin London by Lamotte.

"Mr. Sheridan was the gentleman who first gave me this information.

"I immediately sent a trusty person by the Queen's orders to London, tobuy up the whole work. It was too late. It had been already so widelycirculated that its consequences could no longer be prevented. I waslucky enough, however, for a considerable sum, to get a copy from aperson intimate with the author, the margin of which, in the handwritingof M. de Calonne, actually contained numerous additional circumstanceswhich were to have been published in a second edition! This publicationmy agent, aided by some English gentlemen, arrived in time to suppress.

"The copy I allude to was brought to Paris and shown to the Queen. Sheinstantly flew with it in her hands to the King's cabinet.

"'Now, Sire,' exclaimed she, 'I hope you will be convinced that myenemies are those whom I have long considered as the most pernicious ofYour Majesty's Councillors--your own Cabinet Ministers--your M. deCalonne!--respecting whom I have often given you my opinion, which,unfortunately, has always been attributed to mere female caprice, or ashaving been biassed by the intrigues of Court favourites! This, I hope,Your Majesty will now be able to contradict!'

"The King all this time was looking over the different pages containingM. de Calonne's additions on their margins. On recognising the hand-writing, His Majesty was so affected by this discovered treachery of hisMinister and the agitation of his calumniated Queen that he couldscarcely articulate.

"'Where,' said he, I did you procure this?'

"'Through the means, Sire, of some of the worthy members of that nationyour treacherous Ministers made our enemy--from England! where yourunfortunate Queen, your injured wife, is compassionated!'

"The King requested I should be sent for. I came. As may be imagined, Iwas received with the warmest sentiments of affection by both TheirMajesties. I then laid before the King the letter of Mr. Sheridan, whichwas, in substance, as follows:

"'MADAME,

"'A work of mine, which I did not choose should be printed, was published in Dublin and transmitted to be sold in London. As soon as I was informed of it, and had procured a spurious copy, I went to the bookseller to put a stop to its circulation. I there met with a copy of the work of Madame de Lamotte, which has been corrected by some one at Paris and sent back to the bookseller for a second edition. Though not in time to suppress the first edition, owing to its rapid circulation, I have had interest enough, through the means of the bookseller of whom I speak, to remit you the copy which has been sent as the basis of a new one. The corrections, I am told, are by one of the King's Ministers. If true, I should imagine the writer will be easily traced.

"'I am happy that it has been in my power to make this discovery, and I hope it will be the means of putting a stop to this most scandalous publication. I feel myself honoured in having contributed thus far to the wishes of Her Majesty, which I hope I have fulfilled to the entire satisfaction of Your Highness.

"'Should anything further transpire on this subject, I will give you the earliest information.

[Madame Campan mentions in her work that the Queen had informed her of the treachery of the Minister, but did not enter into particulars, nor explain the mode or source of its detection. Notwithstanding the parties had bound themselves for the sums they received not to reprint the work, a second edition appeared a short time afterwards in London. This, which was again bought up by the French Ambassador, was the same which was to have been burned by the King's command at the china manufactory at Sevres.]

"M. de Calonne immediately received the King's mandate to resign theportfolio. The Minister desired that he might be allowed to give hisresignation to the King himself. His request was granted. The Queen waspresent at the interview. The work in question was produced. Onbeholding it, the Minister nearly fainted. The King got up and left theroom. The Queen, who remained, told M. de Calonne that His Majesty hadno further occasion for his services. He fell on his knees. He was notallowed to speak, but was desired to leave Paris.

"The dismissal and disgrace of M. de Calonne were scarcely known beforeall Paris vociferated that they were owing to the intrigues of thefavourite De Polignac, in consequence of his having refused to administerto her own superfluous extravagance and the Queen's repeated demands onthe Treasury to satisfy the numerous dependants of the Duchess.

"This, however, was soon officially disproved by the exhibition of awritten proposition of Calonne's to the Queen, to supply an additionalhundred thousand francs that year to her annual revenue, which HerMajesty refused. As for the Duchesse de Polignac, so far from havingcaused the disgrace, she was not even aware of the circumstance fromwhich it arose; nor did the Minister himself ever know how, or by whatagency, his falsehood was so thoroughly unmasked."

NOTE:

[The work which is here spoken of, the Queen kept, as a proof of the treachery of Calonne towards her and his Sovereign, till the storming of the Tuileries on the 10th of August, 1792, when, with the rest of the papers and property plundered on that memorable occasion, it fell into the hands of the ferocious mob.

M. de Calonne soon after left France for Italy. There he lived for some time in the palace of a particular friend of mine and the Marquis, my husband, the Countess Francese Tressino, at Vicenza.

In consequence of our going every season to take the mineral waters and use the baths at Valdagno, we had often occasion to be in company with M. de Calonne, both at Vicenza and Valdagno, where I must do him the justice to say he conducted himself with the greatest circumspection in speaking of the Revolution.

Though he evidently avoided the topic which terminates this chapter, yet one day, being closely pressed upon the subject, he said forgeries were daily committed on Ministers, and were most particularly so in France at the period in question; that he had borne the blame of various imprudencies neither authorized nor executed by him; that much had been done and supposed to have been done with his sanction, of which he had not the slightest knowledge. This he observed generally, without specifying any express instance.

He was then asked whether he did not consider himself responsible for the mischief he occasioned by declaring the nation in a state of bankruptcy. He said, "No, not in the least. There was no other way of preventing enormous sums from being daily lavished, as they then were, on herds of worthless beings; that the Queen had sought to cultivate a state of private domestic society, but that, in the attempt, she only warmed in her bosom domestic vipers, who fed on the vital spirit of her generosity." He mentioned no names.

I then took the liberty of asking him his opinion of the Princesse de Lamballe.

"Oh, madame! had the rest of Her Majesty's numerous attendants possessed the tenth part of that unfortunate Victim's virtues, Her Majesty would never have been led into the errors which all France must deplore!

"I shall never forget her," continued he, "the day I went to take leave of her. She was sitting on a sofa when I entered. On seeing me, she rose immediately. Before I could utter a syllable, 'Monsieur,' said the Princess, 'you are accused of being the Queen's enemy. Acquit yourself of the foul deed imputed to you, and I shall be happy to serve you as far as lies in my power. Till then, I must decline holding any communication with an individual thus situated. I am her friend, and cannot receive any one known to be otherwise.'

"There was something," added he, "so sublime, so dignified, and altogether so firm, though mild in her manner, that she appeared not to belong to a race of earthly beings!"

Seeing the tears fall from his eyes, while he was thus eulogising her whose memory I shall ever venerate, I almost forgave him the mischief of his imprudence, which led to her untimely end. I therefore carefully avoided wounding his few gray hairs and latter days, and left him still untold that it was by her, of whom he thought so highly, that his uncontradicted treachery had been discovered.

SECTION III.

"Of the many instances in which the Queen's exertions to serve those whomshe conceived likely to benefit and relieve the nation, turned to theinjury, not only of herself, but those whom she patronised and the causeshe would strengthen, one of the most unpopular was that of the promotionof Brienne, Archbishop of Sens, to the Ministry. Her interest in hisfavour was entirely created by the Abbe Vermond, himself too superficialto pronounce upon any qualities, and especially such as were requisitefor so high a station. By many, the partiality which prompted Vermond toespouse the interests of the Archbishop was ascribed to the amiablesentiment of gratitude for the recommendation of that dignitary, by whichVermond himself first obtained his situation at Court; but there wereothers, who have been deemed deeper in the secret, who impute it to theless honourable source of self-interest, to the mere spirit ofostentation, to the hope of its enabling him to bring about thedestruction of the De Polignacs. Be this as it may, the Abbe well knewthat a Minister indebted for his elevation solely to the Queen would besupported by her to the last.

"This, unluckily, proved the case. Marie Antoinette persisted inupholding every act of Brienne, till his ignorance and unpardonableblunders drew down the general indignation of the people against HerMajesty and her protege, with whom she was identified. The King hadassented to the appointment with no other view than that of not beingutterly isolated and to show a respect for his consort's choice. But theincapable Minister was presently compelled to retire not only fromoffice, but from Paris. Never was a Minister more detested while inpower, or a people more enthusiastically satisfied at his going out. Hiseffigy was burnt in every town of France, and the general illuminationsand bonfires in the capital were accompanied by hooting and hissing thedeposed statesman to the barriers.

"The Queen, prompted by the Abbe Vermond, even after Brienne'sdismission, gave him tokens of her royal munificence. Her Majesty fearedthat her acting otherwise to a Minister, who had been honoured by herconfidence, would operate as a check to prevent all men of celebrity fromexposing their fortunes to so ungracious a return for lending their bestservices to the State, which now stood in need of the most skilfulpilots. Such were the motives assigned by Her Majesty herself to me,when I took the liberty, of expostulating with her respecting the dangerswhich threatened herself and family, from this continued devotedness to aMinister against whom the nation had pronounced so strongly. I could notbut applaud the delicacy of the feeling upon which her conduct had beengrounded; nor could I blame her, in my heart, for the uprightness of herprinciple, in showing that what she had once undertaken should not beabandoned through female caprice. I told Her Majesty that the systemupon which she acted was praiseworthy; and that its application in thepresent instance would have been so had the Archbishop possessed as muchtalent as he lacked; but, that now it was quite requisite for her to stopthe public clamour by renouncing her protection of a man who had soseriously endangered the public tranquillity and her own reputation.

"As a proof how far my caution was well founded, there was an immenseriotous mob raised about this time against the Queen, in consequence ofher having, appointed the dismissed Minister's niece, Madame de Canisy,to a place at Court, and having given her picture, set in diamonds, tothe Archbishop himself.

"The Queen, in many cases, was by far too communicative to some of herhousehold, who immediately divulged all they gathered from her unreserve.How could these circumstances have transpired to the people but fromthose nearest the person of Her Majesty, who, knowing the public feelingbetter than their royal mistress could be supposed to know it, did theirown feeling little credit by the mischievous exposure? The people wereexasperated beyond all conception. The Abbe Vermond placed before HerMajesty the consequences of her communicativeness, and from this timeforward she never repeated the error. After the lesson she had received,none of her female attendants, not even the Duchesse de Polignac, to whomshe would have confided her very existence, could, had they been ever somuch disposed, have drawn anything upon public matters from her. Withme, as her superintendent and entitled by my situation to interrogate andgive her counsel, she was not, of course, under the same restriction.To his other representations of the consequences of the Queen'sindiscreet openness, the Abbe Vermond added that, being obliged to writeall the letters, private and public, he often found himself greatlyembarrassed by affairs having gone forth to the world beforehand. Onemisfortune of putting this seal upon the lips of Her Majesty was that itplaced her more thoroughly in the Abbe's power. She was, of course,obliged to rely implicitly upon him concerning many points, which, hadthey undergone the discussion necessarily resulting from freeconversation, would have been shown to her under very different aspects.A man with a better heart, less Jesuitical, and not so much interested asVermond was to keep his place, would have been a safer monitor.

"Though the Archbishop of Sens was so much hated and despised, much maybe said in apology for his disasters. His unpopularity, and the Queen'ssupport of him against the people, was certainly a vital blow to themonarchy. There is no doubt of his having been a poor substitute for thegreat men who had so gloriously beaten the political paths ofadministration, particularly the Comte de Vergennes and Necker.But at that time, when France was threatened by its great convulsion,where is the genius which might not have committed itself? And here is aman coming to rule amidst revolutionary feelings, with no knowledgewhatever of revolutionary principles--a pilot steering into one harbourby the chart of another. I am by no means a vindicator of theArchbishop's obstinacy in offering himself a candidate for a situationentirely foreign to the occupations, habits, and studies of his wholelife; but his intentions may have been good enough, and we must notcharge the physician with murder who has only mistaken the disease, and,though wrong in his judgment, has been zealous and conscientious; normust we blame the comedians for the faults of the comedy. The errorswere not so much in the men who did not succeed as in the manners of thetimes.

"The part which the Queen was now openly compelled to bear, in themanagement of public affairs, increased the public feeling against herfrom dislike to hatred. Her Majesty was unhappy, not only from thenecessity which called her out of the sphere to which she thought her sexought to be confined, but from the divisions which existed in the RoyalFamily upon points in which their common safety required a common schemeof action. Her favourite brother-in-law, D'Artois, had espoused the sideof D'ORLEANS, and the popular party seemed to prevail against her, evenwith the King.

"The various parliamentary assemblies, which had swept on their course,under various denominations, in rapid and stormy succession, were nowfollowed by one which, like Aaron's rod, was to swallow up the rest.Its approach was regarded by the Queen with ominous reluctance.At length, however, the moment for the meeting of the States Generalat Versailles arrived. Necker was once more in favour, and a sort offorlorn hope of better times dawned upon the perplexed monarch, in hisanticipations from this assembly.

"The night before the procession of the instalment of the States Generalwas to take place, it being my duty to attend Her Majesty, I received ananonymous letter, cautioning me not to be seen that day by her side.I immediately went to the King's apartments and showed him the letter.His Majesty humanely enjoined me to abide by its counsels. I told himI hoped he would for once permit me to exercise my own discretion; for ifmy royal Sovereign were in danger, it was then that her attendants shouldbe most eager to rally round her, in order to watch over her safety andencourage her fortitude.

"While we were thus occupied, the Queen and my sister-in-law, theDuchesse d'Orleans, entered the King's apartment, to settle some part ofthe etiquette respecting the procession.

"'I wish,' exclaimed the Duchess, 'that this procession were over; orthat it were never to take place; or that none of us had to be there; orelse, being obliged, that we had all passed, and were comfortably at homeagain.'

"'Its taking place,' answered the Queen, 'never had my sanction,especially at Versailles. M. Necker appears to be in its favour, andanswers for its success. I wish he may not be deceived; but I much fearthat he is guided more by the mistaken hope of maintaining his ownpopularity by this impolitic meeting, than by any conscientiousconfidence in its advantage to the King's authority.'

"The King, having in his hand the letter which I had just brought him,presented it to the Queen.

"'This, my dear Duchess,' cried the Queen, I comes from the Palais Royalmanufactory, [Palais d' Orleans. D.W.] to poison the very firstsentiments of delight at the union expected between the King and hissubjects, by innuendoes of the danger which must result from my beingpresent at it. Look at the insidiousness of the thing! Under a pretextof kindness, cautions against the effect of their attachment are given tomy most sincere and affectionate attendants, whose fidelity none dareattack openly. I am, however, rejoiced that Lamballe has beencautioned.'

"'Against what?' replied I.

"'Against appearing in the procession,' answered the Queen.

"'It is only,' I exclaimed, 'by putting me in the grave they can everwithdraw me from Your Majesty. While I have life and Your Majesty'ssanction, force only will prevent me from doing my duty. Fifty thousanddaggers, Madame, were they all raised against me, would have no power toshake the firmness of my character or the earnestness of my attachment.I pity the wretches who have so little penetration. Victim or no victim,nothing shall ever induce me to quit Your Majesty.'

"The Queen and Duchess, both in tears, embraced me. After the Duchesshad taken her leave, the King and Queen hinted their suspicions that shehad been apprised of the letter, and had made this visit expressly toobserve what effect it had produced, well knowing at the time that someattempt was meditated by the hired mob and purchased deputies alreadybrought over to the D'ORLEANS faction. Not that the slightest suspicionof collusion could ever be attached to the good Duchesse d'Orleansagainst the Queen. The intentions of the Duchess were known to be asvirtuous and pure as those of her husband's party were criminal andmischievous. But, no doubt, she had intimations of the result intended;and, unable to avert the storm or prevent its cause, had been instigatedby her strong attachment to me, as well as the paternal affection herfather, the Duc de Penthievre, bore me, to attempt to lessen theexasperation of the Palais Royal party and the Duke, her husband, againstme, by dissuading me from running any risk upon the occasion.

"The next day, May 5, 1789, at the very moment when all the resources ofnature and art seemed exhausted to render the Queen a paragon ofloveliness beyond anything I had ever before witnessed, even in her;when every impartial eye was eager to behold and feast on that form whosebeauty warmed every heart in her favour; at that moment a horde ofmiscreants, just as she came within sight of the Assembly, thundered inher ears, 'Orleans forever!' three or four times, while she and the Kingwere left to pass unheeded. Even the warning of the letter, from whichshe had reason to expect some commotions, suggested to her imaginationnothing like this, and she was dreadfully shaken. I sprang forward tosupport her. The King's party, prepared for the attack, shouted 'Vive leroi! Vive la reine!' As I turned, I saw some of the members lividlypale, as if fearing their machinations had been discovered; but, as theypassed, they said in the hearing of Her Majesty, 'Remember, you are thedaughter of Maria Theresa.'--'True,' answered the Queen. The Duc deBiron, Orleans, La Fayette, Mirabeau, and the Mayor of Paris, seeing HerMajesty's emotion, came up, and were going to stop the procession. All,in apparent agitation, cried out 'Halt!' The Queen, sternly looking atthem, made a sign with her head to proceed, recovered herself, and movedforward in the train, with all the dignity and self-possession for whichshe was so eminently distinguished.

"But this self-command in public proved nearly fatal to Her Majesty onher return to her apartment. There her real feelings broke forth, andtheir violence was so great as to cause the bracelets on her wrists andthe pearls in her necklace to burst from the threads and settings, beforeher women and the ladies in attendance could have time to take them off.She remained many hours in a most alarming state of strong convulsions.Her clothes were obliged to be cut from her body, to give her ease; butas soon as she was undressed, and tears came to her relief, she flewalternately to the Princesse Elizabeth and to myself; but we were bothtoo much overwhelmed to give her the consolation of which she stood somuch in need.

"Barnave that very evening came to my private apartment, and tendered hisservices to the Queen. He told me he wished Her Majesty to be convincedthat he was a Frenchman; that he only desired his country might begoverned by salutary laws, and not by the caprice of weak sovereigns,or a vitiated, corrupt Ministry; that the clergy and nobility ought tocontribute to the wants of the State equally with every other class ofthe King's subjects; that when this was accomplished, and abuses wereremoved, by such a national representation as would enable the Minister,Necker, to accomplish his plans for the liquidation of the national debt,I might assure Her Majesty that both the King and herself would findthemselves happier in a constitutional government than they had ever yetbeen; for such a government would set them free from all dependence onthe caprice of Ministers, and lessen a responsibility of which they nowexperienced the misery; that if the King sincerely entered into thespirit of regenerating the French nation, he would find among the presentrepresentatives many members of probity, loyal and honourable in theirintentions, who would never become the destroyers of a limited legitimatemonarchy, or the corrupt regicides of a rump Parliament, such as broughtthe wayward Charles the First, of England, to the fatal block.

"I attempted to relate the conversation to the Queen. She listened withthe greatest attention till I came to the part concerning theconstitutional King, when Her Majesty lost her patience, and prevented mefrom proceeding.

[This and other conversations, which will be found in subsequent pages, will prove that Barnave's sentiments in favour of the Royal Family long preceded the affair at Varennes, the beginning of which Madame Campan assigns to it. Indeed it must by this time be evident to the reader that Madame Campan, though very correct in relating all she knew, with respect to the history of Marie Antoinette, was not in possession of matters foreign to her occupation about the person of the Queen, and, in particular, that she could communicate little concerning those important intrigues carried on respecting the different deputies of the first Assembly, till in the latter days of the Revolution, when it became necessary, from the pressure of events, that she should be made a sort of confidante, in order to prevent her from compromising the persons of the Queen and the Princesse de Lamballe: a trust, of her claim to which her undoubted fidelity was an ample pledge. Still, however, she was often absent from Court at moments of great importance, and was obliged to take her information, upon much which she has recorded, from hearsay, which has led her, as I have before stated, into frequent mistakes.]

"The expense of the insulting scene, which had so overcome Her Majesty,was five hundred thousand francs! This sum was paid by the agents of thePalais Royal, and its execution entrusted principally to Mirabeau,Bailly, the Mayor of Paris, and another individual, who was afterwardsbrought over to the Court party.

"The history of the Assembly itself on the day following, the 6th of May,is too well known. The sudden perturbation of a guilty conscience, whichovercame the Duc d'Orleans, seemed like an awful warning. He hadscarcely commenced his inflammatory address to the Assembly, when someone, who felt incommoded by the stifling heat of the hall, exclaimed,'Throw open the windows!' The conspirator fancied he heard in this hisdeath sentence. He fainted, and was conducted home in the greatestagitation. Madame de Bouffon was at the Palais Royal when the Duke wastaken thither. The Duchesse d'Orleans was at the palace of the Duc dePenthievre, her father, while the Duke himself was at the Hotel Thoulousewith me, where he was to dine, and where we were waiting for the Duchessto come and join us, by appointment. But Madame de Bouffon was soalarmed by the state in which she saw the Duc d'Orleans that sheinstantly left the Palais Royal, and despatched his valet express tobring her thither. My sister-in-law sent an excuse to me for not comingto dinner, and an explanation to her father for so abruptly leaving hispalace, and hastened home to her husband. It was some days before herecovered; and his father-in-law, his wife, and myself were not withouthopes that he would see in this an omen to prevent him from persistingany longer in his opposition to the Royal Family.

"The effects of the recall of the popular Minister, Necker, did notsatisfy the King. Necker soon became an object of suspicion to the Courtparty, and especially to His Majesty and the Queen. He was known to havemaintained an understanding with D'ORLEANS. The miscarriage of manyplans and the misfortunes which succeeded were the result of thisconnection, though it was openly disavowed. The first suspicion of thecoalition arose thus:

"When the Duke had his bust carried about Paris, after his unworthyschemes against the King had been discovered, it was thrown into themire. Necker passing, perhaps by mere accident, stopped his carriage,and expressing himself with some resentment for such treatment to aPrince of the blood and a friend of the people, ordered the bust to betaken to the Palais Royal, where it was washed, crowned with laurel, andthence, with Necker's own bust, carried to Versailles. The King's aunts,coming from Bellevue as the procession was upon the road, ordered theguards to send the men away who bore the busts, that the King and Queenmight not be insulted with the sight. This circumstance caused anotherriot, which was attributed to Their Majesties. The dismission of theMinister was the obvious result. It is certain, however, that, inobeying the mandate of exile, Necker had no wish to exercise theadvantage he possessed from his great popularity. His retirement wassudden and secret; and, although it was mentioned that very evening bythe Baroness de Stael to the Comte de Chinon, so little bustle was madeabout his withdrawing from France, that it was even stated at the time tohave been utterly unknown, even to his daughter.

"Necker himself ascribed his dismission to the influence of the DePolignacs; but he was totally mistaken, for the Duchesse de Polignac wasthe last person to have had any influence in matters of State, whatevermight have been the case with those who surrounded her. She was devoidof ambition or capacity to give her weight; and the Queen was not sopliant in points of high import as to allow herself to be governed oroverruled, unless her mind was thoroughly convinced. In that respect,she was something like Catharine II., who always distinguished herfavourites from her Minister; but in the present case she had no choice,and was under the necessity of yielding to the boisterous voice of afaction.

"From this epoch, I saw all the persons who had any wish to communicatewith the Queen on matters relative to the public business, and HerMajesty was generally present when they came, and received them in myapartments. The Duchesse de Polignac never, to my knowledge, enteredinto any of these State questions; yet there was no promotion in thecivil, military, or ministerial department, which she has not beencharged with having influenced the Queen to make, though there were fewof them who were not nominated by the King and his Ministers, evenunknown to the Queen herself.

"The prevailing dissatisfaction against Her Majesty and the favouriteDe Polignac now began to take so many forms, and produce effects sodreadful, as to wring her own feelings, as well as those of her royalmistress, with the most intense anguish. Let me mention one gross andbarbarous instance in proof of what I say.

"After the birth of the Queen's second son, the Duc de Normandie, who wasafterwards Dauphin, the Duke and Duchess of Harcourt, outrageouslyjealous of the ascendency of the governess of the Dauphin, excited theyoung Prince's hatred toward Madame de Polignac to such a pitch that hewould take nothing from her hands, but often, young as he was at thetime, order her out of the apartment, and treat her remonstrances withthe utmost contempt. The Duchess bitterly complained of the Harcourts tothe Queen; for she really sacrificed the whole of her time to the careand attention required by this young Prince, and she did so from sincereattachment, and that he might not be irritated in his declining state ofhealth. The Queen was deeply hurt at these dissensions between thegovernor and governess. Her Majesty endeavoured to pacify the mind ofthe young Prince, by literally making herself a slave to his childishcaprices, which in all probability would have created the confidence sodesired, when a most cruel, unnatural, I may say diabolical, reportprevailed to alienate the child's affections even from his mother,in making him believe that, owing to his deformity and growing ugliness,she had transferred all her tenderness to his younger brother, whocertainly was very superior in health and beauty to the puny Dauphin.Making a pretext of this calumny, the governor of the heir-apparent wasmalicious enough to prohibit him from eating or drinking anything butwhat first passed through the hands of his physicians; and so strong wasthe impression made by this interdict on the mind of the young Dauphinthat he never after saw the Queen but with the greatest terror. Thefeelings of his disconsolate parent may be more readily conceived thandescribed. So may the mortification of his governess, the Duchesse dePolignac, herself so tender, so affectionate a mother. Fortunately forhimself, and happily for his wretched parents, this royal youth, whoselife, though short, had been so full of suffering, died at Versailles onthe 4th of June, 1789, and, though only between seven and eight years ofage at the time of his decease, he had given proofs of intellectualprecocity, which would probably have made continued life, amidst thescenes of wretchedness, which succeeded, anything to him but a blessing.

"The cabals of the Duke of Harcourt, to which I have just adverted,against the Duchesse de Polignac, were the mere result of foul maliceand ambition. Harcourt wished to get his wife, who was the sworn enemyof De Polignac, created governess to the Dauphin, instead of the Queen'sfavourite. Most of the criminal stories against the Duchesse dePolignac, and which did equal injury to the Queen, were fabricated by theHarcourts, for the purpose of excluding their rival from her situation.

"Barnave, meanwhile, continued faithful to his liberal principles, butequally faithful to his desire of bringing Their Majesties over to thoseprinciples, and making them republican Sovereigns. He lost noopportunity of availing himself of my permission for him to call wheneverhe chose on public business; and he continued to urge the same points,upon which he had before been so much in earnest, although with no bettereffect. Both the King and the Queen looked with suspicion upon Barnave,and with still more suspicion upon his politics.

"The next time I received him, 'Madame,' exclaimed the deputy to me,'since our last interview I have pondered well on the situation of theKing; and, as an honest Frenchman, attached to my lawful Sovereign, andanxious for his future prosperous reign, I am decidedly of opinion thathis own safety, as well as the dignity of the crown of France, and thehappiness of his subjects, can only be secured by his giving his countrya Constitution, which will at once place his establishment beyond thecaprice and the tyranny of corrupt administrations, and secure hereafterthe first monarchy in Europe from the possibility of sinking under weakPrinces, by whom the royal splendour of France has too often been debasedinto the mere tool of vicious and mercenary noblesse, and sycophanticcourtiers. A King, protected by a Constitution, can do no wrong. He isunshackled with responsibility. He is empowered with the comfort ofexercising the executive authority for the benefit of the nation, whileall the harsher duties, and all the censures they create, devolve onothers. It is, therefore, madame, through your means, and the well-knownfriendship you have ever evinced for the Royal Family, and the generalwelfare of the French nation, that I wish to obtain a private audience ofHer Majesty, the Queen, in order to induce her to exert the never-failingascendency she has ever possessed over the mind of our good King,in persuading him to the sacrifice of a small proportion of his power,for the sake of preserving the monarchy to his heirs; and posterity willrecord the virtues of a Prince who has been magnanimous enough, of hisown free will, to resign the unlawful part of his prerogatives, usurpedby his predecessors, for the blessing and pleasure of giving liberty toa beloved people, among whom both the King and Queen will find manyHampdens and Sidneys, but very few Cromwells. Besides, madame, we mustmake a merit of necessity. The times are pregnant with events, and it ismore prudent to support the palladium of the ancient monarchy than riskits total overthrow; and fall it must, if the diseased excrescences,of which the people complain, and which threaten to carry death intothe very heart of the tree, be not lopped away in time by the Sovereignhimself.'

"I heard the deputy with the greatest attention. I promised to fulfilhis commission. The better to execute my task, I retired the moment heleft me, and wrote down all I could recollect of his discourse, that itmight be thoroughly placed before the Queen the first opportunity.

"When I communicated the conversation to Her Majesty, she listened withthe most gracious condescension, till I came to the part wherein Barnaveso forcibly impressed the necessity of adopting a constitutionalmonarchy. Here, as she had done once before, when I repeated some formerobservations of Barnave to her, Marie Antoinette somewhat lost herequanimity. She rose from her seat, and exclaimed:

"'What! is an absolute Prince, and the hereditary Sovereign of theancient monarchy of France, to become the tool of a plebeian faction,who will, their point once gained, dethrone him for his imbecilecomplaisance? Do they wish to imitate the English Revolution of 1648,and reproduce the sanguinary times of the unfortunate and weak Charlesthe First? To make France a commonwealth! Well! be it so! But beforeI advise the King to such a step, or give my consent to it, they shallbury me under the ruins of the monarchy.'

"'But what answer,' said I, 'does Your Majesty wish me to return to thedeputy's request for a private audience?'

"'What answer?' exclaimed the Queen. No answer at all is the best answerto such a presumptuous proposition! I tremble for the consequences ofthe impression their disloyal manoeuvres have made upon the minds of thepeople, and I have no faith whatever in their proffered services to theKing. However, on reflection, it may be expedient to temporise.Continue to see him. Learn, if possible, how far he may be trusted;but do not fix any time, as yet, for the desired audience. I wish toapprise the King, first, of his interview with you, Princess. Thisconversation does not agree with what he and Mirabeau proposed about theKing's recovering his prerogatives. Are these the prerogatives withwhich he flattered the King? Binding him hand and foot, and excludinghim from every privilege, and then casting him a helpless dependant onthe caprice of a volatile plebeian faction! The French nation is verydifferent from the English. The first rules of the established ancientorder of the government broken through, they will violate twenty others,and the King will be sacrificed, before this frivolous people againorganise themselves with any sort of regular government.'

"Agreeably to Her Majesty's commands, I continued to see Barnave. Icommunicated with him by letter,' at his private lodgings at Passy, andat Vitry; but it was long before the Queen could be brought to consent tothe audience he solicited.

[Of these letters I was generally the bearer. I recollect that day perfectly. I was copying some letters for the Princesse de Lamballe, when the Prince de Conti came in. The Prince lived not only to see, but to feel the errors of his system. He attained a great age. He outlived the glory of his country. Like many others, the first gleam of political regeneration led him into a system, which drove him out of France, to implore the shelter of a foreign asylum, that he might not fall a victim to his own credulity. I had an opportunity of witnessing in his latter days his sincere repentance; and to this it is fit that I should bear testimony. There were no bounds to the execration with which he expressed himself towards the murderers of those victims, whose death he lamented with a bitterness in which some remorse was mingled, from the impression that his own early errors in favour of the Revolution had unintentionally accelerated their untimely end. This was a source to him of deep and perpetual self-reproach.

There was an eccentricity in the appearance, dress, and manners of the Prince de Conti, which well deserves recording.

He wore to the very last--and it was in Barcelona, so late as 1803, that I last had the honour of conversing with him--a white rich stuff dress frock coat, of the cut and fashion of Louis XIV., which, being without any collar, had buttons and button-holes from the neck to the bottom of the skirt, and was padded and stiffened with buckram. The cuffs were very large, of a different colour, and turned up to the elbows. The whole was lined with white satin, which, from its being very much moth-eaten, appeared as if it had been dotted on purpose to show the buckram between the satin lining. His waistcoat was of rich green striped silk, bound with gold lace; the buttons and buttonholes of gold; the flaps very large, and completely covering his small clothes; which happened very apropos, for they scarcely reached his knees, over which he wore large striped silk stockings, that came half-way up his thighs. His shoes had high heels, and reached half up his legs; the buckles were small, and set round with paste. A very narrow stiff stock decorated his neck. He carried a hat, with a white feather on the inside, under his arm. His ruffles were of very handsome point lace. His few gray hairs were gathered in a little round bag. The wig alone was wanting to make him a thorough picture of the polished age of the founder of Versailles and Marly.

He had all that princely politeness of manner which so eminently distinguished the old school of French nobility, previous to the Revolution. He was the thorough gentleman, a character by no means so readily to be met with in these days of refinement as one would imagine. He never addressed the softer sex but with ease and elegance, and admiration of their persons.

Could Louis XIV. have believed, had it been told to him when he placed this branch of the Bourbons on the throne of Iberia, that it would one day refuse to give shelter at the Court of Madrid to one of his family, for fear of offending a Corsican usurper!]

"Indeed, Her Majesty had such an aversion to all who had declaredthemselves for any innovation upon the existing power of the monarchy,that she was very reluctant to give audience upon the subject to anyperson, not even excepting the Princes of the blood. The Comte d'Artoishimself, leaning as he did to the popular side, had ceased to be welcome.Expressions he had made use of, concerning the necessity for some change,had occasioned the coolness, which was already of considerable standing.

"One day the Prince de Conti came to me, to complain of the Queen'srefusing to receive him, because he had expressed himself to the sameeffect as had the Comte d'Artois on the subject of the Tiers Etat.

"'And does Your Highness,' replied I, 'imagine that the Queen is lessdispleased with the conduct of the Comte d'Artois on that head than sheis with you, Prince? I can assure Your Highness, that at this momentthere subsists a very great degree of coolness between Her Majesty andher royal brother-in-law, whom she loves as if he were her own brother.Though she makes every allowance for his political inexperience, and wellknows the goodness of his heart and the rectitude of his intentions, yetpolicy will not permit her to change her sentiments.'

"'That may be,' said the Prince, 'but while Her Majesty continues tohonour with her royal presence the Duchesse de Polignac, whose friends,as well as herself, are all enthusiastically mad in favour of theconstitutional system, she shows an undue partiality, by countenancingone branch of the party and not the other; particularly so, as the greatand notorious leader of the opposition, which the Queen frowns upon,is the sister-in-law of this very Duchesse de Polignac, and the avowedfavourite of the Comte d'Artois, by whom, and the councils of the PalaisRoyal, he is supposed to be totally governed in his political career.'

"'The Queen,' replied I, 'is certainly her own mistress. She sees, Ibelieve, many persons more from habit than any other motive; to which,Your Highness is aware, many Princes often make sacrifices. YourHighness cannot suppose I can have the temerity to control Her Majesty,in the selection of her friends, or in her sentiments respecting them.'

"'No,' exclaimed the Prince, 'I imagine not. But she might just as wellsee any of us; for we are no more enemies of the Crown than the party sheis cherishing by constantly appearing among them; which, according to heravowed maxims concerning the not sanctioning any but supporters of theabsolute monarchy, is in direct opposition to her own sentiments.

"'Who,' continued His Highness, 'caused that infernal comedy, 'Le Mariagede Figaro', to be brought out, but the party of the Duchesse de Polignac?

[Note of the Princesse de Lamballe:--The Prince de Conti never could speak of Beaumarchais but with the greatest contempt. There was something personal in this exasperation. Beaumarchais had satirized the Prince. 'The Spanish Barber' was founded on a circumstance which happened at a country house between Conti and a young lady, during the reign of Louis XV., when intrigues of every kind were practised and almost sanctioned. The poet has exposed the Prince by making him the Doctor Bartolo of his play. The affair which supplied the story was hushed up at Court, and the Prince was punished only by the loss of his mistress, who became the wife of another.]

The play is a critique on the whole Royal Family, from the drawing up ofthe curtain to its fall. It burlesques the ways and manners of everyindividual connected with the Court of Versailles. Not a scene buttouches some of their characters. Are not the Queen herself and theComte d'Artois lampooned and caricatured in the garden scenes, and themost slanderous ridicule cast upon their innocent evening walks on theterrace? Does not Beaumarchais plainly show in it, to every impartialeye, the means which the Comtesse Diane has taken publicly to demonstrateher jealousy of the Queen's ascendency over the Comte d'Artois? Is itnot from the same sentiment that she roused the jealousy of the Comtessed'Artois against Her Majesty?'

"'All these circumstances,' observed I, 'the King prudently foresaw whenhe read the manuscript, and caused it to be read to the Queen, toconvince her of the nature of its characters and the dangerous tendencylikely to arise from its performance. Of this Your Highness is aware.It is not for me to apprise you that, to avert the excitement inevitablefrom its being brought upon the stage, and under a thorough conviction ofthe mischief it would produce in turning the minds of the people againstthe Queen, His Majesty solemnly declared that the comedy should not beperformed in Paris; and that he would never sanction its being broughtbefore the public on any stage in France.'

"'Bah! bah! madame!' exclaimed De Conti. The Queen has acted like achild in this affair, as in many others. In defiance of His Majesty'sdetermination, did not the Queen herself, through the fatal influence ofher favourite, whose party wearied her out by continued importunities,cause the King to revoke his express mandate? And what has been theconsequence of Her Majesty's ungovernable partiality for these DePolignacs?'

"'You know, Prince,' said I, 'better than I do.'

"'The proofs of its bad consequences,' pursued His Highness, 'are morestrongly verified than ever by your own withdrawing from the Queen'sparties since her unreserved acknowledgment of her partiality (fatalpartiality!) for those who will be her ruin; for they are her worstenemies.'

"'Pardon me, Prince,' answered I, 'I have not withdrawn myself from theQueen, but from the new parties, with whose politics I cannot identifymyself, besides some exceptions I have taken against those who frequentthem.'

"'Bah! bah!' exclaimed De Conti, 'your sagacity has got the better ofyour curiosity. All the wit and humour of that traitor Beaumarchaisnever seduced you to cultivate his society, as all the rest of theQueen's party have done.'

"'I never knew him to be accused of treason.'

"'Why, what do you call a fellow who sent arms to the Americans beforethe war was declared, without his Sovereign's consent?'

"'In that affair, I consider the Ministers as criminal as himself; forthe Queen, to this day, believes that Beaumarchais was sanctioned by themand, you know, Her Majesty has ever since had an insuperable dislike toboth De Maurepas and De Vergennes. But I have nothing to do with thesethings.'

"'Yes, yes, I understand you, Princess. Let her romp and play with the'compate vous',--[A kind of game of forfeits, introduced for thediversion of the royal children and those of the Duchesse de Polignac.]--but who will 'compatire' (make allowance for) her folly? Bah! bah! bah!She is inconsistent, Princess. Not that I mean by this to insinuate thatthe Duchess is not the sincere friend and well-wisher of the Queen. Herimmediate existence, her interest, and that of her family, are alldependent on the royal bounty. But can the Duchess answer for the samesincerity towards the Queen, with respect to her innumerable guests?No! Are not the sentiments of the Duchesses sister-in-law, the ComtesseDiane, in direct opposition to the absolute monarchy? Has she not alwaysbeen an enthusiastic advocate for all those that have supported theAmerican war? Who was it that crowned, at a public assembly, thedemocratical straight hairs of Dr. Franklin? Why the same MadameComtesse Diane! Who was 'capa turpa' in applauding the men who wereframing the American Constitution at Paris? Madame Comtesse Diane! Whowas it, in like manner, that opposed all the Queen's arguments againstthe political conduct of France and Spain, relative to the war withEngland, in favour of the American Independence? The Comtesse Diane!Not for the love of that rising nation, or for the sacred cause ofliberty; but from a taste for notoriety, a spirit of envy and jealousy,an apprehension lest the personal charms of the Queen might rob her of apart of those affections, which she herself exclusively hoped to alienatefrom that abortion, the Comtesse d'Artois, in whose service she is Maidof Honour, and handmaid to the Count. My dear Princess, these are factsproved. Beaumarchais has delineated them all. Why, then, refuse to seeme? Why withdraw her former confidence from the Comte d'Artois, when shelives in the society which promulgates antimonarchical principles? Theseare sad evidences of Her Majesty's inconsistency. She might as well seethe Duc d'Orleans'

"'Oh, Prince!' exclaimed I, in a bitter agony of grief--'Oh, Prince!touch not that fatal string. For how many years has he not caused thesebriny tears of mine to flow from my burning eyes! The scalding dropshave nearly parched up the spring of life!'"

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

Beaumarchais sent arms to the AmericansEducate his children as quietists in matters of religionIt is an ill wind that blows no one any goodJudge of men by the company they keepLes culottes--what do you call them?' 'Small clothes'My little English protegeeNo phrase becomes a proverb until after a century's experienceWe say "inexpressibles"Wish art to eclipse nature

MEMOIRS OF LOUIS XV. AND XVI.

Being Secret Memoirs of Madame du Hausset, Lady's Maid to Madamede Pompadour, and of an unknown English Girl and the Princess Lamballe

BOOK 6.

SECTION IV.

"The dismissal of M. Necker irritated the people beyond description.They looked upon themselves as insulted in their favourite. Mobsucceeded mob, each more mischievous and daring than the former. The Ducd'Orleans continued busy in his work of secret destruction. In one ofthe popular risings, a sabre struck his bust, and its head fell, severedfrom its body. Many of the rioters (for the ignorant are alwayssuperstitious) shrunk back at this omen of evil to their idol. His realfriends endeavoured to deduce a salutary warning to him from thecircumstance. I was by when the Duc de Penthievre told him, in thepresence of his daughter, that he might look upon this accident asprophetic of the fate of his own head, as well as the ruin of his family,if he persisted. He made no answer, but left the room.

"On the 14th of July, and two or three days preceding, the commotionstook a definite object. The destruction of the Bastille was the pointproposed, and it was achieved. Arms were obtained from the oldpensioners at the Hotel des Invalides. Fifty thousand livres weredistributed among the chiefs of those who influenced the Invalides togive up the arms.

"The massacre of the Marquis de Launay, commandant of the place, and ofM. de Flesselles, and the fall of the citadel itself, were theconsequence.

"Her Majesty was greatly affected when she heard of the murder of theseofficers and the taking of the Bastille. She frequently told me that thehorrid circumstance originated in a diabolical Court intrigue, but neverexplained the particulars of the intrigue. She declared that both theofficers and the citadel might have been saved had not the King's ordersfor the march of the troops from Versailles, and the environs of Paris,been disobeyed. She blamed the precipitation of De Launay in ordering upthe drawbridge and directing the few troops on it to fire upon thepeople. 'There,' she added, 'the Marquis committed himself; as, in caseof not succeeding, he could have no retreat, which every commander shouldtake care to secure, before he allows the commencement of a generalattack.

[Certainly, the French Revolution may date its epoch as far back as the taking of the Bastille; from that moment the troubles progressively continued, till the final extirpation of its illustrious victims. I was just returning from a mission to England when the storms began to threaten not only the most violent effects to France itself, but to all the land which was not divided from it by the watery element. The spirit of liberty, as the vine, which produces the most luxurious fruit, when abused becomes the most pernicious poison, was stalking abroad and revelling in blood and massacre. I myself was a witness to the enthusiastic national ball given on the ruins of the Bastille, while it was still stained and reeking with the hot blood of its late keeper, whose head I saw carried in triumph. Such was the effect on me that the Princesse de Lamballe asked me if I had known the Marquis de Launay. I answered in the negative; but told her from the knowledge I had of the English Revolution, I was fearful of a result similar to what followed the fall of the heads of Buckingham and Stafford. The Princess mentioning my observation to the Duc de Penthievre, they both burst into tears.]

The death of the Dauphin, the horrible Revolution of the 14th of July, the troubles about Necker, the insults and threats offered to the Comte d'Artois and herself,--overwhelmed the Queen with the most poignant grief.]

"She was most desirous of some understanding being established betweenthe government and the representatives of the people, which she urgedupon the King the expediency of personally attempting.

"The King, therefore, at her reiterated remonstrances and requests,presented himself, on the following day, with his brothers, to theNational Assembly, to assure them of his firm determination to supportthe measures of the deputies, in everything conducive to the general goodof his subjects. As a proof of his intentions, he said he had commandedthe troops to leave Paris and Versailles.

"The King left the Assembly, as he had gone thither, on foot, amid thevociferations of 'Vive le roi!' and it was only through the enthusiasm ofthe deputies, who thus hailed His Majesty, and followed him in crowds tothe palace, that the Comte d'Artois escaped the fury of an outrageousmob.

"The people filled every avenue of the palace, which vibrated with criesfor the King, the Queen, and the Dauphin to show themselves at thebalcony.

"'Send for the Duchesse de Polignac to bring the royal children,' cried Ito Her Majesty.

"'Not for the world!' exclaimed the Queen. 'She will be assassinated,and my children too, if she make her appearance before this infuriatemob. Let Madame and the Dauphin be brought unaccompanied.'

"The Queen, on this occasion, imitated her Imperial mother, MariaTheresa. She took the Dauphin in her arms, and Madame by her side, asthat Empress had done when she presented herself to the Hungarianmagnates; but the reception here was very different. It was not'moriamur pro nostra regina'. Not that they were ill received; but thefurious party of the Duc d'Orleans often interrupted the cries of 'Vivele roi! Vive la reine!' etc., with those of 'Vive la nation! Vive d'Orleans!' and many severe remarks on the family of the De Polignacs,which proved that the Queen's caution on this occasion was exceedinglywell-judged.

"Not to wound the feelings of the Duchesse de Polignac, I kept myself ata distance behind the Queen; but I was loudly called for by the mobility,and, 'malgre moi', was obliged, at the King and Queen's request, to comeforward.

"As I approached the balcony, I perceived one of the well-known agents ofthe Duc d'Orleans, whom I had noticed some time before in the throng,menacing me, the moment I made my appearance, with his upreared hand infury. I was greatly terrified, but suppressed my agitation, and salutedthe populace; but, fearful of exhibiting my weakness in sight of thewretch who had alarmed me, withdrew instantly, and had no sooner re-entered than I sunk motionless in the arms of one of the attendants.Luckily, this did not take place till I left the balcony. Had it beenotherwise, the triumph to my declared enemies would have been too great.

"Recovering, I found myself surrounded by the Royal Family, who were allkindness and concern for my situation; but I could not subdue my tremorand affright. The horrid image of that monster seemed, still to threatenme.

"'Come, come!' said the King, 'be not alarmed, I shall order a council ofall the Ministers and deputies to-morrow, who will soon put an end tothese riots!'

"We were ere long joined by the Prince de Conde, the Duc de Bourbon, andothers, who implored the King not to part with the army, but to placehimself, with all the Princes of the blood, at its head, as the onlymeans to restore tranquillity to the country, and secure his own safety.

"The Queen was decidedly of the same opinion; and added, that, if thearmy were to depart, the King and his family ought to go with it; but theKing, on the contrary, said he would not decide upon any measureswhatever till he had heard the opinion of the Council.

"The Queen, notwithstanding the King's indecision, was occupied, duringthe rest of the day and the whole of the night, in preparing for herintended; journey, as she hoped to persuade the King to follow the adviceof the Princes, and not wait the result of the next day's deliberation.Nay, so desirous was she of this, that she threw herself on her knees tothe King, imploring him to leave Versailles and head the army, andoffering to accompany him herself, on horseback, in uniform; but it waslike speaking to a corpse he never answered.

"The Duchesse de Polignac came to Her Majesty in a state of the greatestagitation, in consequence of M. de Chinon having just apprised her that amost malicious report had been secretly spread among the deputies atVersailles that they were all to be blown up at their next meeting.

"The Queen was as much surprised as the Duchess, and scarcely lessagitated. These wretched friends could only, in silence, compare notesof their mutual cruel misfortunes. Both for a time remained speechlessat this new calamity. Surely this was not wanting to be added to thoseby which the Queen was already so bitterly oppressed.

"I was sent for by Her Majesty. Count Fersen accompanied me. He hadjust communicated to me what the Duchess had already repeated from M.Chinon to the Queen.

"The rumour had been set afloat merely as a new pretext for thecontinuation of the riots.

"The communication of the report, so likely to produce a disastrouseffect, took place while the King was with his Ministers deliberatingwhether he should go to Paris, or save himself and family by joining thearmy.

"His Majesty was called from the council to the Queen's apartment, andwas there made acquainted with the circumstance which had so awakened theterror of the royal party. He calmly replied, 'It is some days sincethis invention has been spread among the deputies; I was aware of it fromthe first; but from its being utterly impossible to be listened to for amoment by any one, I did not wish to afflict you by the mention of animpotent fabrication, which I myself treated with the contempt it justlymerited. Nevertheless, I did not forget, yesterday, in the presence ofboth my brothers, who accompanied me to the National Assembly, there toexculpate myself from an imputation at which my nature revolts; and, fromthe manner in which it was received, I flatter myself that every honestFrenchman was fully satisfied that my religion will ever be aninsurmountable barrier against my harbouring sentiments allied in theslightest degree to such actions.

"The King embraced the Queen, begged she would tranquilise herself,calmed the fears of the two ladies, thanked the gentlemen for theinterest they took in his favour, and returned to the council, who, inhis absence, had determined on his going to the Hotel de Ville at Paris,suggesting at the same time the names of several persons likely to bewell received, if His Majesty thought proper to allow their accompanyinghim.

"During this interval, the Queen, still flattering herself that sheshould pursue her wished-for journey, ordered the carriages to beprepared and sent off to Rambouillet, where she said she should sleep;but this Her Majesty only stated for the purpose of distracting theattention of her pages and others about her from her real purpose. As itwas well known that M. de St. Priest had pointed out Rambouillet as a fitasylum for the mob, she fancied that an understanding on the part of hersuite that they were to halt there, and prepare for her reception, wouldprotect her project of proceeding much farther.

"When the council had broken up and the King returned, he said to theQueen, 'It is decided.'

"'To go, I hope?' said Her Majesty.

"'No'--(though in appearance calm, the words remained on the lips of theKing, and he stood for some moments incapable of utterance; but,recovering, added)--'To Paris!'

"The Queen, at the word Paris, became frantic. She flung herself wildlyinto the arms of her friends.

"'Nous sommes perdus! nous sommes perdus !' cried she, in a passion oftears. But her dread was not for herself. She felt only for the dangerto which the King was now going to expose himself; and she flew to him,and hung on his neck.

"'And what,' exclaimed she, 'is to become of all our faithful friends andattendants!'

"'I advise them all,' answered His Majesty, 'to make the best of theirway out of France; and that as soon as possible.'

"By this time, the apartments of the Queen were filled with theattendants and the royal children, anxiously expecting every moment toreceive the Queen's command to proceed on their journey, but they wereall ordered to retire to whence they came.

"The scene was that of a real tragedy. Nothing broke the silence butgroans of the deepest affliction. Our consternation at the counter ordercast all into a state of stupefied insensibility.

"The Queen was the only one whose fortitude bore her up proudly underthis weight of misfortunes. Recovering from the frenzy of the firstimpression, she adjured her friends, by the love and obedience they hadever shown her and the King, to prepare immediately to fulfil his mandateand make themselves ready for the cruel separation!

"The Duchesse de Polignac and myself were, for some hours, in a state ofagony and delirium.

"When the Queen saw the body-guards drawn up to accompany the King'sdeparture, she ran to the window, threw apart the sash, and was going tospeak to them, to recommend the King to their care; but the Count Fersenprevented it.

"'For God's sake, Madame,'--exclaimed he, 'do not commit yourself to thesuspicion of having any doubts of the people!'

"When the King entered to take leave of her, and of all his most faithfulattendants, he could only articulate, 'Adieu!' But when the Queen saw himaccompanied by the Comte d'Estaing and others, whom, from their newprinciples, she knew to be popular favourites, she had command enough ofherself not to shed a tear in their presence.

"No sooner, however, had the King left the room than it was as much asthe Count Fersen, Princesse Elizabeth, and all of us could do to recoverher from the most violent convulsions. At last, coming to herself, sheretired with the Princess, the Duchess, and myself to await the King'sreturn; at the same time requesting the Count Fersen to follow HisMajesty to the Hotel de Ville. Again and again she implored the Count,as she went, in case the King should be detained, to interest himselfwith all the foreign Ministers to interpose for his liberation.

"Versailles, when the King was gone, seemed like a city deserted inconsequence of the plague. The palace was completely abandoned. All theattendants were dispersed. No one was seen in the streets. Terrorprevailed. It was universally believed that the King would be detainedin Paris. The high road from Versailles to Paris was crowded with allranks of people, as if to catch a last look of their Sovereign.

"The Count Fersen set off instantly, pursuant to the Queen's desire. Hesaw all that passed, and on his return related to me the history of thathorrid day.

"He arrived at Paris just in time to see His Majesty take the nationalcockade from M. Bailly and place it in his hat. He, felt the Hotel deVille shake with the long-continued cries of 'Vive le roi!' inconsequence, which so affected the King that, for some moments, he wasunable to express himself. "I myself,' added the Count, I was so movedat the effect on His Majesty, in being thus warmly received by hisParisian subjects, which portrayed the paternal emotions of his long-lacerated heart, that every other feeling was paralysed for a moment, inexultation at the apparent unanimity between the Sovereign and hispeople. But it did not,' continued the Ambassador, 'paralyse the artfultongue of Bailly, the Mayor of Paris. I could have kicked the fellow forhis malignant impudence; for, even in the cunning compliment he framed,he studied to humble the afflicted Monarch by telling the people it wasto them he owed the sovereign authority.

"'But,' pursued the Count, 'considering the situation of Louis XVI. andthat of his family, agonised as they must have been during his absence,from the Queen's impression that the Parisians would never again allowhim to see Versailles, how great was our rapture when we saw him safelyreplaced in his carriage, and returning to those who were still lamentinghim as lost!

"'When I left Her Majesty in the morning, she was nearly in a state ofmental aberration. When I saw her again in the evening, the King by herside, surrounded by her family, the Princesse Eizabeth, and yourself,madame' said the kind Count, 'she appeared to me like a person risen fromthe dead and restored to life. Her excess of joy at the first moment wasbeyond description!'

"Count Fersen might well say the first moment, for the pleasure of theQueen was of short duration. Her heart was doomed to bleed afresh, whenthe thrill of delight, at what she considered the escape of her husband,was past, for she had already seen her chosen friend, the Duchesse dePolignac, for the last time.

"Her Majesty was but just recovered from the effects of the morning'sagitation, when the Duchess, the Duke, his sister, and all his family setoff. It was impossible for her to take leave of her friend. The hourwas late--about midnight. At the same time departed the Comte d'Artoisand his family, the Prince de Conde and his, the Prince of Hessed'Armstadt, and all those who were likely to be suspected by the people.

"Her Majesty desired the Count Fersen to see the Duchess in her name.When the King heard the request, he exclaimed:

"'What a cruel state for Sovereigns, my dear Count! To be compelled toseparate ourselves from our most faithful attendants, and not be allowed,for fear of compromising others or our own lives, to take a lastfarewell!'

"'Ah!' said the Queen, 'I fear so too. I fear it is a last farewell toall our friends!'

"The Count saw the Duchess a few moments before she left Versailles.Pisani, the Venetian Ambassador, and Count Fersen, helped her on thecoachbox, where she rode disguised.

"What must have been most poignantly mortifying to the fallen favouritewas, that, in the course of her journey, she met with her greatest enemy,(Necker) who was returning, triumphant, to Paris, called by the voice ofthat very nation by whom she and her family were now forced from itsterritory,--Necker, who himself conceived that she, who now went by himinto exile, while he himself returned to the greatest of victories, hadthwarted all his former plans of operation, and, from her influence overthe Queen, had caused his dismission and temporary banishment.

"For my own part, I cannot but consider this sudden desertion of Franceby those nearest the throne as ill-judged. Had all the Royal Family,remained, is it likely that the King and Queen would have been watchedwith such despotic vigilance? Would not confidence have createdconfidence, and the breach have been less wide between the King and hispeople?

"When the father and his family will now be thoroughly reconciled, Heavenalone can tell!"

SECTION V.

"Barnave often lamented his having been betrayed, by a love of notoriety,into many schemes, of which his impetuosity blinded him to theconsequences. With tears in his eyes, he implored me to impress theQueen's mind with the sad truths he inculcated. He said his motives hadbeen uniformly the same, however he might have erred in carrying theminto action; but now he relied on my friendship for my royal mistress togive efficacy to his earnest desire to atone for those faults, of whichhe had become convinced by dear-bought experience. He gave me a list ofnames for Her Majesty, in which were specified all the Jacobins who hademissaries throughout France, for the purpose of creating on the sameday, and at the same hour, an alarm of something like the 'VesparoSiciliano' (a general insurrection to murder all the nobility and burntheir palaces, which, in fact, took place in many parts of France), theobject of which was to give the Assembly, by whom all the regular troopswere disbanded, a pretext for arming the people as a national guard, thuscreating a perpetual national faction.

"The hordes of every faubourg now paraded in this new democratic livery.Even some of them, who were in the actual service of the Court, made noscruple of decorating themselves thus, in the very face of theirSovereign. The King complained, but the answer made to him was that thenation commanded.

"The very first time Their Majesties went to the royal chapel, after theembodying of the troops with the national guards, all the personsbelonging to it were accoutred in the national uniform. The Queen washighly incensed, and deeply affected at this insult offered to the King'sauthority by the persons employed in the sacred occupations of theChurch. 'Such persons,' said Her Majesty, 'would, I had hoped, have beenthe last to interfere with politics.' She was about to order all thosewho preferred their uniforms to their employments to be discharged fromthe King's service; but my advice, coupled with that of Barnave,dissuaded her from executing so dangerous a threat. On being assuredthat those, perhaps, who might be selected to replace the offenders mightrefuse the service, if not allowed the same ridiculous prerogatives,and thus expose Their Royal Majesties to double mortification, the Queenseemed satisfied, and no more was said upon the subject, except to anItalian soprano, to whom the King signified his displeasure at hissinging a 'salva regina' in the dress of a grenadier of the new faction.

"The singer took the hint and never again intruded his uniform into thechapel.

"Necker, notwithstanding the enthusiasm his return produced upon thepeople, felt mortified in having lost the confidence of the King. Hecame to me, exclaiming that, unless Their Majesties distinguished him bysome mark of their royal favour, his influence must be lost with theNational Assembly. He perceived, he said, that the councils of the Kingwere more governed by the advice of the Queen's favourite, the AbbeVermond, than by his (Necker's). He begged I would assure Her Majestythat Vermond was quite as obnoxious to the people as the Duchesse dePolignac had ever been; for it was generally known that Her Majesty wascompletely guided by him, and, therefore, for her own safety and thetranquillity of national affairs, he humbly suggested the prudence ofsending him from the Court, at least for a time.

"I was petrified at hearing a Minister dare presume thus to dictate theline of conduct which the Queen of France, his Sovereign, should pursuewith respect to her most private servants. Such was my indignation atthis cruel wish to dismiss every object of her choice, especially onefrom whom, owing to long habits of intimacy since her childhood, aseparation would be rendered, by her present situation, peculiarly cruel,that nothing but the circumstances in which the Court then stood couldhave given me patience to listen to him.

"I made no answer. Upon my silence, Necker subjoined, 'You mustperceive, Princess, that I am actuated for the general good of thenation.'

"'And I hope, monsieur, for the prerogatives of the monarchy also,'replied I.

"'Certainly,' said Necker. 'But if Their Majesties continue to be guidedby others, and will not follow my advice, I cannot answer for theconsequences.'

"I assured the Minister that I would be the faithful bearer of hiscommission, however unpleasant.

"Knowing the character of the Queen, in not much relishing being dictatedto with respect to her conduct in relation to the persons of herhousehold, especially the Abbe Vermond, and aware, at the same time,of her dislike to Necker, who thus undertook to be her director, I feltrather awkward in being the medium of the Minister's suggestions. Butwhat was my surprise, on finding her prepared, and totally indifferent asto the privation.

"'I foresaw,' replied Her Majesty, 'that Vermond would become odious tothe present order of things, merely because he had been a faithfulservant, and long attached to my interest; but you may tell M. Neckerthat the Abbe leaves Versailles this very night, by my express order, forVienna.'

"If the proposal of Necker astonished me, the Queen's reception of itastonished me still more. What a lesson is this for royal favourites!The man who had been her tutor, and who, almost from her childhood, neverleft her, the constant confidant for fifteen or sixteen years, was nowsent off without a seeming regret.

"I doubt not, however, that the Queen had some very powerful secretmotive for the sudden change in her conduct towards the Abbe, for she wasever just in all her concerns, even to her avowed enemies; but I washappy that she seemed to express no particular regret at the Minister'ssuggested policy. I presume, from the result, that I myself hadoverrated the influence of the Abbe over the mind of his royal pupil;that he had by no means the sway imputed to him; and that MarieAntoinette merely considered him as the necessary instrument of herprivate correspondence, which he had wholly managed.

[The truth is, Her Majesty had already taken leave of the Abbe, in the presence of the King, unknown to the Princess; or, more properly, the Abbe had taken an affectionate leave of them.]

"But a circumstance presently occurred which aroused Her Majesty fromthis calmness and indifference. The King came in to inform her thatLa Fayette, during the night, had caused the guards to desert from thepalace of Versailles.

"The effect on her of this intelligence was like the lightning whichprecedes a loud clap of thunder.

"Everything that followed was perfectly in character, and shook everynerve of the royal authority.

"'Thus,' exclaimed Marie Antoinette, 'thus, Sire, have you humiliatedyourself, in condescending to go to Paris, without having accomplishedthe object. You have not regained the confidence of your subjects. Oh,how bitterly do I deplore the loss of that confidence! It exists nolonger. Alas! when will it be restored!'

"The French guards, indeed, had been in open insurrection through themonths of June and July, and all that could be done was to preserve onesingle company of grenadiers, by means of their commander, the Baron deLeval, faithful to their colours. This company had now been influencedby General La Fayette to desert and join their companions, who hadenrolled themselves in the Paris national guard.

"Messieurs de Bouille and de Luxembourg being interrogated by the Queenrespecting the spirit of the troops under their immediate command, M. deBouille answered, Madame, I should be very sorry to be compelled toundertake any internal operation with men who have been seduced fromtheir allegiance, and are daily paid by a faction which aims at theoverthrow of its legitimate Sovereign. I would not answer for a man thathas been in the neighbourhood of the seditious national troops, or thathas read the inflammatory discussions of the National Assembly. If YourMajesty and the King wish well to the nation--I am sorry to say it--itshappiness depends on your quitting immediately the scenes of riot andplacing yourselves in a situation to treat with the National Assembly onequal terms, whereby the King may be unbiassed and unfettered by acompulsive, overbearing mob; and this can only be achieved by your flyingto a place of safety. That you may find such a place, I will answer withmy life!'

"'Yes,' said M. de Luxembourg, 'I think we may both safely answer that,in such a case, you will find a few Frenchmen ready to risk a little tosave all!' And both concurred that there was no hope of salvation forthe King or country but through the resolution they advised.

"'This,' said the Queen, 'will be a very difficult task. His Majesty, Ifear, will never consent to leave France.'

"'Then, Madame,' replied they, 'we can only regret that we have nothingto offer but our own perseverance in the love and service of our King andhis oppressed family, to whom we deplore we can now be useful only withour feeble wishes.'

"'Well, gentlemen,' answered Her Majesty, 'you must not despair of betterprospects. I will take an early opportunity of communicating your loyalsentiments to the King, and will hear his opinion on the subject before Igive you a definite answer. I thank you, in the name of His Majesty, aswell as on my own account, for your good intentions towards us.'

"Scarcely had these gentlemen left the palace, when a report prevailedthat the King, his family, and Ministers, were about to withdraw to somefortified situation. It was also industriously rumoured that, as soon asthey were in safety, the National Assembly would be forcibly dismissed,as the Parliament had been by Louis XIV. The reports gained universalbelief when it became known that the King had ordered the Flandersregiment to Versailles.

"The National Assembly now daily watched the royal power more and moreassiduously. New sacrifices of the prerogatives of the nobles wereincessantly proposed by them to the King.

"When His Majesty told the Queen that he had been advised by Necker tosanction the abolition of the privileged nobility, and that alldistinctions, except the order of the Holy Ghost to himself and theDauphin, were also annihilated by the Assembly, even to the order ofMaria Theresa, which she could no longer wear, 'These, Sire,' answeredshe, in extreme anguish, 'are trifles, so far as they regard myself.I do not think I have twice worn the order of Maria Theresa since myarrival in this once happy country. I need it not. The immortal memoryof her who gave me being is engraven on my heart; that I shall wearforever, none can wrest it from me. But what grieves me to the soul isyour having sanctioned these decrees of the National Assembly upon themere 'ipse dixit' of M. Necker.'

"'I have only, given my sanction to such as I thought most necessary totranquilise the minds of those who doubted my sincerity; but I havewithheld it from others, which, for the good of my, people, requirematurer consideration. On these, in a full Council, and in yourpresence, I shall again deliberate.'

"'Oh, said the Queen, with tears in her eyes, could but the people hearyou, and know, once for all, how to appreciate the goodness of yourheart, as I do now, they would cast themselves at your feet, andsupplicate your forgiveness for having shown such ingratitude to yourpaternal interest for their welfare!'

"But this unfortunate refusal to sanction all the decrees sent by theNational Assembly, though it proceeded from the best motives, producedthe worst effects. Duport, De Lameth, and Barnave well knew the troublessuch a course must create. Of this they forewarned His Majesty, beforeany measure was laid before him for approval. They cautioned him not totrifle with the deputies. They assured him that half measures would onlyrouse suspicion. They enforced the necessity of uniform assentation, inorder to lull the Mirabeau party, who were canvassing for a majority toset up D'ORLEANS, to whose interest Mirabeau and his myrmidons were thendevoted. The scheme of Duport, De Lameth, and Barnave was to thwart andweaken the Mirabeau and Orleans faction, by gradually persuading them, inconsequence of the King's compliance with whatever the Assembly exacted,that they could do no better than to let him into a share of theexecutive power; for now nothing was left to His Majesty butresponsibility, while the privileges of grace and justice had becomemerely nominal, with the one dangerous exception of the veto, to which hecould never have recourse without imminent peril to his cause and tohimself.

"Unfortunately for His Majesty's interest, he was too scrupulous to act,even through momentary policy, distinctly against his conscience. Whenhe gave way, it was with reluctance, and often with an avowal, more orless express, that he only complied with necessity against conviction.His very sincerity made him appear the reverse. His adherentsconsequently dwindled, while the Orleans faction became immeasurablyaugmented.

"In the midst of these perplexities, an Austrian courier was stopped withdespatches from Prince Kaunitz. These, though unsought for on the partof Her Majesty, though they contained a friendly advice to her to submitto the circumstances of the times, and though, luckily, they were couchedin terms favourable to the Constitution, showed the mob that there was acorrespondence with Vienna, carried on by the Queen, and neither Austrianor the Queen were deemed the friends either of the people or of theConstitution. To have received the letters was enough for the faction.

"Affairs were now ripening gradually into something like a crisis, whenthe Flanders regiment arrived. The note of preparation had been sounded.'Let us go to Versailles, and bring the King away from his evilcounsellors,' was already in the mouths of the Parisians.

"In the meantime, Dumourier, who had been leagued with the Orleansfaction, became disgusted with it. He knew the deep schemes of treasonwhich were in train against the Royal Family, and, in disguise, soughtthe Queen at Versailles, and had an interview with Her Majesty in mypresence. He assured her that an abominable insurrection was ripe forexplosion among the mobs of the faubourgs; gave her the names of theleaders, who had received money to promote its organisation; and warnedher that the massacre of the Royal Family was the object of themanoeuvre, for the purpose of declaring the Duke of Orleans theconstitutional King; that he was to be proclaimed by Mirabeau, who hadalready received a considerable sum in advance, for distribution amongthe populace, to ensure their support; and that Mirabeau, in return forhis co-operation, was to be created a Duke, with the office of PrimeMinister and Secretary of State, and to have the framing of theConstitution, which was to be modelled from that of Great Britain. Itwas farther concerted that D'ORLEANS was to show himself in the midst ofthe confusion, and the crown to be conferred upon him by publicacclamation.

"On his knees Dumourier implored Her Majesty to regard his voluntarydiscovery of this infamous and diabolical plot as a proof of his sincererepentance. He declared he came disinterestedly to offer himself as asacrifice to save her, the King, and her family from the horrors thenthreatening their lives, from the violence of an outrageous mob ofregicides; he called God to witness that he was actuated by no other wishthan to atone for his error, and die in their defence; he looked for noreward beyond the King's forgiveness of his having joined the Orleansfaction; he never had any view in joining that faction but that of aidingthe Duke, for the good of his country, in the reform of ministerialabuses, and strengthening the royal authority by the salutary laws of theNational Assembly; but he no sooner discovered that impure schemes ofpersonal aggrandisement gave the real impulse to these pretendedreformers than he forsook their unholy course. He supplicated HerMajesty to lose no time, but to allow him to save her from thedestruction to which she would inevitably be exposed; that he was readyto throw himself at the King's feet, to implore his forgiveness also, andto assure him of his profound penitence, and his determination torenounce forever the factious Orleans party.

"As Her Majesty would not see any of those who offered themselves, exceptin my presence, I availed myself, in this instance, of the opportunity itgave me by enforcing the arguments of Dumourier. But all I could say,all the earnest representations to be deduced from this critical crisis,could not prevail with her, even so far as to persuade her to temporisewith Dumourier, as she had done with many others on similar occasions.She was deaf and inexorable. She treated all he had said as the effusionof an overheated imagination, and told him she had no faith in traitors.Dumourier remained upon his knees while she was replying, as ifstupefied; but at the word traitor he started and roused himself; andthen, in a state almost of madness, seized the Queen's dress, exclaiming,'Allow yourself to be persuaded before it is too late! Let not yourmisguided prejudice against me hurry you to your own and your children'sdestruction; let it not get the better, Madame, of your good sense andreason; the fatal moment is near; it is at hand!' Upon this, turning, headdressed himself to me.

"'Oh, Princess,' he cried, 'be her guardian angel, as you have hithertobeen her only friend, and use your never-failing influence. I take Godonce more to witness, that I am sincere in all I have said; that all Ihave disclosed is true. This will be the last time I shall have it in mypower to be of any essential service to you, Madame, and my Sovereign.The National Assembly will put it out of my power for the future, withoutbecoming a traitor to my country.'

"'Rise, monsieur,' said the Queen, 'and serve your country better thanyou have served your King!'

"'Madame, I obey.'

"When he was about to leave the room, I again, with tears, besought HerMajesty not to let him depart thus, but to give him some hope, that,after reflection, she might perhaps endeavour to soothe the King's anger.But in vain. He withdrew very much affected. I even ventured, after hisdeparture, to intercede for his recall.

"'He has pledged himself,' said I, 'to save you, Madame !'

"'My dear Princess,' replied the Queen, 'the goodness of your own heartwill not allow you to have sinister ideas of others. This man is likeall of the same stamp. They are all traitors; and will only hurry us thesooner, if we suffer ourselves to be deceived by them, to an ignominiousdeath! I seek no safety for myself.'

"'But he offered to serve the King also, Madame.'

"'I am not,' answered Her Majesty, 'Henrietta of France. I will neverstoop to ask a pension of the murderers of my husband; nor will I leavethe King, my son, or my adopted country, or even meanly owe my existenceto wretches who have destroyed the dignity of the Crown and trampledunder foot the most ancient monarchy in Europe! Under its ruins theywill bury their King and myself. To owe our safety to them would be morehateful than any death they can prepare for us'

"While the Queen was in this state of agitation, a note was presented tome with a list of the names of the officers of the Flanders regiment,requesting the honour of an audience of the Queen.

"The very idea of seeing the Flanders officers flushed Her Majesty'scountenance with an ecstasy of joy. She said she would retire to composeherself, and receive them in two hours.

"The Queen saw the officers in her private cabinet, and in my presence.They were presented to her by me. They told Her Majesty that, thoughthey had changed their paymaster, they had not changed their allegianceto their Sovereign or herself, but were ready to defend both with theirlives. They placed one hand on the hilt of their swords, and, solemnlylifting the other up to Heaven, swore that the weapons should never bewielded but for the defence of the King and Queen, against all foes,whether foreign or domestic.

"This unexpected loyalty burst on us like the beauteous rainbow, after atempest, by the dawn of which we are taught to believe the world is savedfrom a second deluge.

"The countenance of Her Majesty brightened over the gloom which hadoppressed her, like the heavenly sun dispersing threatening clouds, andmaking the heart of the poor mariner bound with joy. Her eyes spoke hersecret rapture. It was evident she felt even unusual dignity in thepresence of these noble-hearted warriors, when comparing them with himwhom she had just dismissed. She graciously condescended to speak toevery one of them, and one and all were enchanted with her affability.

"She said she was no longer the Queen who could compensate loyalty andvalour; but the brave soldier found his reward in the fidelity of hisservice, which formed the glory of his immortality. She assured them shehad ever been attached to the army, and would make it her study torecommend every individual, meriting attention, to the King.

"Loud bursts of repeated acclamations and shouts of 'Vive la reine!'instantly followed her remarks. She thanked the officers mostgraciously; and, fearing to commit herself, by saying more, took herleave, attended by me; but immediately sent me back, to thank them againin her name.

"When the National Assembly saw the officers going to and coming from theKing's palace with such demonstrations of enthusiasm, they took alarm,and the regicide faction hastened on the crisis for which it had beenlonging. It was by no means unusual for the chiefs of regiments,destined to form part of the garrison of a royal residence, to bereceived by the Sovereign on their arrival, and certainly only naturalthat they should be so; but in times of excitement trifling events havepowerful effects.

"But if the National Assembly began to tremble for their own safety, andhad already taken secret, measures to secure it, by conspiring to put aninstantaneous end to the King's power, against which they had so longbeen plotting, when the Flanders regiment arrived, it may be readilyconceived what must have been their emotions on the fraternisation ofthis regiment with the body-guard, and on the scene to which the dinner,given to the former troops by the latter, so unpremeditatedly led.

"On the day of this fatal dinner I remarked to the Queen, 'What abeautiful sight it must be to behold, in these troublesome times, thehappy union of such a meeting!'

"'It must indeed!' replied the King; 'and the pleasure I feel in knowingit would be redoubled had I the privilege of entertaining the Flandersregiment, as the body-guards are doing.'

"'Heaven forbid!' cried Her Majesty; 'Heaven forbid that you should thinkof such a thing! The Assembly would never forgive us!'

"After we had dined, the Queen sent to the Marquise de Tourzel for theDauphin. When he came, the Queen told him about her having seen thebrave officers on their arrival; and how gaily those good officers hadleft the palace, declaring they would die rather than suffer any harm tocome to him, or his papa and mamma; and that at that very time they wereall dining at the theatre.

"'Dining in the theatre, mamma?' said the young, Prince. 'I never heardof people dining in a theatre!'

"'No, my dear child,' replied Her Majesty, 'it is not generally allowed;but they are doing so, because the body-guards are giving a dinner tothis good Flanders regiment; and the Flanders regiment are so brave thatthe guards chose the finest place they could think of to entertain themin, to show how much they like them; that is the reason why they aredining in the gay, painted theatre.'

"'Oh, mamma!' exclaimed the Dauphin, whom the Queen adored, 'Oh, papa!'cried he, looking at the King, 'how I should like to see them!'

"'Let us go and satisfy the child!' said the King, instantly starting upfrom his seat.

"The Queen took the Dauphin by the hand, and they proceeded to thetheatre. It was all done in a moment. There was no premeditation on thepart of the King or Queen; no invitation on the part of the officers.Had I been asked, I should certainly have followed the Queen; but just asthe King rose, I left the room. The Prince being eager to see thefestival, they set off immediately, and when I returned to the apartmentthey were gone. Not being very well, I remained where I was; but most ofthe household had already followed Their Majesties.

"On the Royal Family making their appearance, they were received with themost unequivocal shouts of general enthusiasm by the troops. Intoxicatedwith the pleasure of seeing Their Majesties among them, and overheatedwith the juice of the grape, they gave themselves up to every excess ofjoy, which the circumstances and the situation of Their Majesties were sowell calculated to inspire. 'Oh! Richard! oh, mon roi!' was sung, aswell as many other loyal songs. The healths of the King, Queen, andDauphin were drunk, till the regiments were really inebriated with themingled influence of wine and shouting vivas!

"When the royal party retired, they were followed by all the military tothe very palace doors, where they sung, danced, embraced each other, andgave way to all the frantic demonstrations of devotedness to the royalcause which the excitement of the scene and the table could produce.Throngs, of course, collected to get near the Royal Family. Many personsin the rush were trampled on, and one or two men, it was said, crushed todeath. The Dauphin and King were delighted; but the Queen, in giving thePrincesse Elizabeth and myself an account of the festival, foresaw thefatal result which would ensue; and deeply deplored the marked enthusiasmwith which they had been greeted and followed by the military.

"There was one more military spectacle, a public breakfast which tookplace on the second of October. Though none of the Royal Family appearedat it, it was no less injurious to their interests than the former. Theenemies of the Crown spread reports all over Paris, that the King andQueen had manoeuvred to pervert the minds of the troops so far as to makethem declare against the measures of the National Assembly. It is notlikely that the Assembly, or politics, were even spoken of at thebreakfast; but the report did as much mischief as the reality would havedone. This was quite sufficient to encourage the D'ORLEANS and Mirabeaufaction in the Assembly to the immediate execution of their long-meditated scheme, of overthrowing the monarchy.

"On the very day following, Duport, De Lameth, and Barnave sent theirconfidential agent to apprise the Queen that certain deputies had alreadyfully matured a plot to remove the King, nay, to confine Her Majesty fromhim in a distant part of France, that her influence over his mind mightno farther thwart their premeditated establishment of a Constitution.

"But others of this body, and the more powerful and subtle portion, had adeeper object, so depraved, that, even when forewarned, the Queen couldnot deem it possible; but of which she was soon convinced by theirinfernal acts.

"The riotous faction, for the purpose of accelerating this denouement,had contrived, by buying up all the corn and sending it out of thecountry, to reduce the populace to famine, and then to make it appearthat the King and Queen had been the monopolisers, and the extravaganceof Marie Antoinette and her largesses to Austria and her favourites, thecause. The plot was so deeply laid that the wretches who, undertook toeffect the diabolical scheme were metamorphosed in the Queen's livery, sothat all the odium might fall on her unfortunate Majesty. At the head ofthe commission of monopolisers was Luckner, who had taken a violentdislike to the Queen, in consequence of his having been refused somepreferment, which he attributed to her influence. Mirabeau, who wasstill in the background, and longing to take a more prominent part,helped it on as much as possible. Pinet, who had been a confidentialagent of the Duc d'Orleans, himself told the Duc de Penthievre thatD'ORLEANS had monopolised all the corn. This communication, and theactivity of the Count Fersen, saved France, and Paris in particular, fromperishing for the want of bread. Even at the moment of the abominablemasquerade, in which Her Majesty's agents were made to appear the enemieswho were starving the French people, out of revenge for the checksimposed by them on the royal authority, it was well known to all theCourt that both Her Majesty and the King were grieved to the soul attheir piteous want, and distributed immense sums for the relief of thepoor sufferers, as did the Duc de Penthievre, the Duchesse d'Orleans, thePrince de Conde, the Duc and Duchesse de Bourbon, and others; but theseacts were done privately, while he who had created the necessity took tohimself the exclusive credit of the relief, and employed thousands dailyto propagate reports of his generosity. Mirabeau, then the factotumagent of the operations of the Palais Royal and its demagogues, greatlyadded to the support of this impression. Indeed, till undeceivedafterwards, he believed it to be really the Duc d'Orleans who hadsuccoured the people.

"I dispensed two hundred and twenty thousand livres merely to discoverthe names of the agents who had been employed to carry on this nefariousplot to exasperate the people against the throne by starvation imputed tothe Sovereign. Though money achieved the discovery in time to clear thecharacters of my royal mistress and the King, the detection only followedthe mischief of the crime. But even the rage thus wickedly excited wasnot enough to carry through the plot. In the faubourgs of Paris, wherethe women became furies, two hundred thousand livres were distributed erethe horror could be completely exposed.

"But it is time for me to enter upon the scenes to which all theintrigues I have detailed were intended to lead--the removal of the RoyalFamily from Versailles.

"My heart sickens when I retrace these moments of anguish. The point towhich they are to conduct us yet remains one of the mysteries of fate."

SECTION VI.

"Her Majesty had been so thoroughly lulled into security by theenthusiasm of the regiments at Versailles that she treated all thereports from Paris with contempt. Nothing was apprehended from thatquarter, and no preparations were consequently made for resistance orprotection. She was at Little Trianon when the news of the approach ofthe desolating torrent arrived. The King was hunting. I presentedto her the commandant of the troops at Versailles, who assured HerMajesty that a murderous faction, too powerful, perhaps, for resistance,was marching principally against her royal person, with La Fayette attheir head, and implored her to put herself and valuables in immediatesafety; particularly all her correspondence with the Princes, emigrants,and foreign Courts, if she had no means of destroying them.

"Though the Queen was somewhat awakened to the truth by this earnestappeal, yet she still considered the extent of the danger as exaggerated,and looked upon the representation as partaking, in a considerabledegree, of the nature of all reports in times of popular commotion.

"Presently, however, a more startling omen appeared, in a much milder butambiguous communication from General La Fayette. He stated that he wason his march from Paris with the national guard, and part of the people,coming to make remonstrances; but he begged Her Majesty to rest assuredthat no disorder would take place, and that he himself would vouch thatthere should be none.

"The King was instantly sent for to the heights of Meudon, while theQueen set off from Little Trianon, with me, for Versailles.

"The first movements were commenced by a few women, or men in women'sclothes, at the palace gates of Versailles. The guards refused thementrance, from an order they had received to that effect from La Fayette.The consternation produced by their resentment was a mere prelude to thehorrid tragedy that succeeded.

"The information now pouring in from different quarters increased HerMajesty's alarm every moment. The order of La Fayette, not to let thewomen be admitted, convinced her that there was something in agitation,which his unexplained letter made her sensible was more to be feared thanif he had signified the real situation and danger to which she wasexposed.

"A messenger was forthwith despatched for M. La Fayette, and another, byorder of the Queen, for M. de St. Priest, to prepare a retreat for theRoyal Family, as the Parisian mob's advance could no longer be doubted.Everything necessary was accordingly got ready.

"La Fayette now arrived at Versailles in obedience to the message, and,in the presence of all the Court and Ministers, assured the King that hecould answer for the Paris army, at the head of which he intended tomarch, to prevent disorders; and advised the admission of the women intothe palace, who, he said, had nothing to propose but a simple memorialrelative to the scarcity of bread.

"The Queen said to him, 'Remember, monsieur, you have pledged your honourfor the King's safety.'